I have a new laptop. A DELL XPS 15 9560 with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5 running Windows 10.

The game in question is Final Fantasy XI (FFXI) which is an online game.

The video card driver will not render the game on the dedicated NVIDIA GPU because its using DirectX 8.

This is by design according to NVIDIA:"Games based on DirectX 8 and older versions of DirectX will only run on integrated graphics in an Optimus laptop under Windows 10This is expected behavior. Most Optimus notebooks use MS Hybrid under Windows 10 which under DirectX 8 and older DirectX APIs will only run on the integrated graphics."

Using dgVoodoo 2.53 solves this problem. I am able to get the game working on the dedicated GPU at 4K resolution @30 fps (which is the game fps limit) by using a global dgVoodoo config and placing the dgVoodoo dll files in the following locations:..\SquareEnix\PlayOnlineViewer\ (excluding DDraw.dll as PlayOnline can't handle the upgrade)..\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\

The problem is the game is unstable. After logging into your character... if you move straight away without waiting a minute it will crash either straight away or soon after for about 2 times in a row. Once you get past this awaked part it will run fairly stable for a long time; even for hours but at anytime it may still randomly crash.

I have tried using your latest version today dgVoodoo 2.54; however the textures on the models aren't loading (they are transparent; so cannot see oneself or other players etc.). But the map textures are fine. The game also appears to be totally stable; it doesn't crash upon moving imminently etc. So either the stability issues in 2.53 is related to loading of model textures or you fixed the issue in 2.54.

For now I have reverted back to using 2.53; and considering just using integrated graphics just for stability for the time being (but its horrid; <1080p and low fps). I was really hoping your new version would make the game more stable.

So anyways it would be nice if you consider looking into extending compatibility of dgVoodoo to this game so the textures on the models load again and to get the game to run more stable. I know many people who play FFXI on laptops would also really appreciate this also.

Also, is it possible that FFXI uses the same engine as Phantasy Star Online (Blue Burst)? Because that game handles managed textures in a weird way that can really (but not necessary) result in crash.In 2.54 I made it all compatible with MS D3D8 but something is maybe not perfect yet.

Also, is it possible that FFXI uses the same engine as Phantasy Star Online (Blue Burst)? Because that game handles managed textures in a weird way that can really (but not necessary) result in crash.In 2.54 I made it all compatible with MS D3D8 but something is maybe not perfect yet.

Also, is it possible that FFXI uses the same engine as Phantasy Star Online (Blue Burst)? Because that game handles managed textures in a weird way that can really (but not necessary) result in crash.In 2.54 I made it all compatible with MS D3D8 but something is maybe not perfect yet.

Hello Dege,

Thank you for being interested in looking into this for us (the FFXI community).

There is no free demo available; however I can set you up with temporary access on my wife and child's game account. The alternative being I gift you a copy of the game on Steam version and you use the free 30-day subscription.

But the former is better because the account has easy access to all areas of the game; so I can leave the character in areas where it crashes the most (e.g. Mhaura, Western Adoulin, Upper Jeuno).

I have the same stability issues with 2.53. In attempt to alleviate it, I updated to 2.54. This resulted in the inability to render character models. I've tried tons of different option combinations in the dgvoodoocpl, but they all result in the character models failing to be rendered.

On the plus side, it's been rock solid. Not a single crash during all of my testing with 2.54, so there's that, haha.

masinmanci wrote:I have the same stability issues with 2.53. In attempt to alleviate it, I updated to 2.54. This resulted in the inability to render character models. I've tried tons of different option combinations in the dgvoodoocpl, but they all result in the character models failing to be rendered.

On the plus side, it's been rock solid. Not a single crash during all of my testing with 2.54, so there's that, haha.

I recently found this which was released last month written by atom0s (same developer who wrote Ashita 3):

It's working very well. I have been using it just over a week and it hasn't crashed once.

But I would rather use dgVoodoo again once its stable for the additional benefits:* Ability to upgrade the graphic effects* Not crash when entering secure desktop* Not crash when pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del* Not crashing when closing and re-opening the lid of laptop

Thanks a million for taking interest in this game. There is a huge community surrounding it and we primary use an application called Windower to get around FFXI's dated graphics engine. It would crash with 2.53 but 2.54 is stable just no character models rendering. Something that might be good to know is that FFXI was originally a PS2 MMO that was ported to PC and later XBox 360 so it very well might share a lot of code with PSO but they were done by two different development teams. If you need anything let us know.

I have a question: I have a SquareEnix account and would like to register to PlayOnline.PlayOnline is expecting a registration code, so I try 'Start PlayOnline Registration" in the PlayOnline Viewer client app (to presumably get the free trial registration code).

The cost is 0$ so you won't actually spend money, but it's how they generate you a valid POL registration key which is what gets linked to your POL account.

For FFXI you have two accounts due to how they used to run the game. First is the SquareEnix account which is "new", but then you got the old POL Account ID which is part of the ancient PlayOnline services. When you register your game is when you will get your POL ID that gets used to identify you to the server. You then link your POL ID to your Square Enix account.

3. Registering the free trial registration code.After you have successfully created a Square Enix Account, log into the Square Enix Account Management and begin registering your free trial. Please access the following page using your internet browser: http://www.square-enix.com/na/account/a. Once logged in, click on “Select Service” under “Services and Options” and then choose “PlayOnline / FINAL FANTASY XI.” b. Click on the “Add new PlayOnline service account” and follow the instructions on screen. c. When prompted to enter your PlayOnline registration code, please enter the 20 digit registration code provided in your free trial download email. Follow the instruction on screen to log into the client and start playing.

Finally I successfully did all the needed registration/purchase, etc.After that, it took ages while FFXI updated itself to the latest version but I'm now able to reproduce the missing-characters bug.I already found its reason, I hope I can come up with a fix for that.

(2.53 didn't crash for me, but I obviously did a only quick try with that.)

Finally I successfully did all the needed registration/purchase, etc.After that, it took ages while FFXI updated itself to the latest version but I'm now able to reproduce the missing-characters bug.I already found its reason, I hope I can come up with a fix for that.

(2.53 didn't crash for me, but I obviously did a only quick try with that.)

Yeah the crash issue from 2.53 only happened when there was a lot of stuff on the screen, so in busy places with a lot of models. Might be a resource limit or some overflow somewhere. I could log in and run around in a quiet place, the moment I went into a place with multiple models *BAM* crash.

The primary third party application is Windower and it worked with 2.54, just the no texture problem. Virtually everyone who plays this game use's Windower because it fixes so many of the developers short sighted development decisions.

If there's any testing you need let me know, I know a ton of people who want to really make this game look fantastic.